Saji, an Oakland native, has years of experience promoting equitable health outcomes and advocating for traditionally and systemically ignored populations. While studying health sciences at California State University, Eastbay Saji took an interest in immigrant and refugee health volunteering with the International Rescue Committee and Contra Costa County health services. Working with public agencies Saji witnessed the barriers justice-impacted individuals faced while trying to access social services and began engaging and advocating for the formerly incarcerated.
Mary Nakamura received her B.A. from Swarthmore College, her M.D. from Yale and trained in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She completed her rheumatology training at Johns Hopkins and UCSF. She did her post doctoral work at UCSF under the mentorship of Bill Seaman. She is a basic-translational researcher focused on studies in the field of osteoimmunology. She formerly led the Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinic at UCSF Parnassus and is a clinical attending at the SF VA HCS.
My research focuses on addressing the drivers and consequences of health inequity in HIV and chronic disease. One stream of research investigates the impact of food insecurity and other unmet subsistence needs on health. A new stream of research examines the intersection of HIV, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and social determinants of health. Within these areas, I have a special interest in developing equitable community partnerships to design and evaluate program and policy solutions.
Katherine Rankin is a neuropsychologist who specializes in assessing cognitive and emotional symptoms in patients with memory disorders.
In her research, Rankin examines neurological changes than can alter personality and social behavior in people with dementia. She is working to develop tests of social and emotional cognition that will allow earlier, more accurate diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia and corticobasal degeneration.
We have three main areas of interest, all involving malaria, one of the most important infections of humans. First, we study the basic biology of malaria parasites, including the biochemical properties and biological roles of parasite proteases and mechanisms of action of novel antimalarial agents. Second, in collaboration with industry and academic groups, we are pursuing drug discovery, evaluating protease inhibitors, oxaboroles, and other compounds as potential antimalarial drugs.
